The Conscience of a King by Field David

Author:Field, David
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Sapere Books
Published: 2023-03-31T00:00:00+00:00

A month later, Simon found Henry where he had last located him in Nottingham, in the King John Tower. It was mid-morning, and he had ridden through the night along the uncertain track from Derby. He was dust-smeared and smelt of horse as he was admitted to the presence, and without thinking he went down on one knee. There was a sharp reproof from his thigh, and he winced, but remained where he was and looked up. His eyes first encountered those of Princess Eleanor, which appeared to be full of sympathy and concern for his suffering, but when he transferred his gaze to Henry, he saw only fear.

‘Well?’ Henry demanded. ‘How found you things in Chester?’

‘They could not withstand a siege from a flock of sheep in their present state, Your Majesty,’ Simon reported. ‘However, my man Fulk is still back there with them, and has been joined by his second in command. By the end of the year they may begin to resemble a small army.’

‘How small, say you?’

‘A hundred at most, Your Majesty. With my men from Leicester joined to their ranks, perhaps a hundred and fifty.’

‘It is nowhere near enough,’ Henry complained. ‘How have things become so lamentable in Chester, say you?’

‘They have fallen into idle ways in the absence of their earl,’ Simon replied. ‘The estate has fallen to his sisters, and they lack any understanding of warfare, obviously.’

‘Some women have been known to bear arms,’ Eleanor observed.

‘We cannot put women into the field,’ Henry complained, ‘although the latest dispatch from des Roches assures us that Marshal has been driven back, so perhaps he has put some of his camp whores into chainmail. Be that as it may, it is likely that he will seek the safety of the Welsh coast, and ride from Pembroke to join Prince Llewellyn in the north of his kingdom. We can then expect the main assault to be on Chester.’

‘How many men is he likely to command?’ Simon asked.

‘Who can tell, at this time?’ Henry replied abstractedly. ‘His own force was once some two thousand strong, but may be heavily depleted due to des Roches’ actions. However, back in Pembroke he can raise half that again, while Llewellyn has twice that number. So let us say five thousand.’

Simon’s heart sank as he raised himself painfully to his feet and accepted the goblet of wine handed to him by a page, on a silent gesture from Princess Eleanor. ‘We have much less than a thousand, unless of course you have retained a standing army.’

Henry snorted. ‘There has been no standing army since my father’s day. Mainly because when my father needed them most, they turned against him. A large body of fighting men is a dangerous commodity to have sitting around in idleness, when it can be given traitorous thoughts.’

‘But a vital commodity when the nation is threatened,’ Simon reminded him. ‘So you rely on the leading earls to bring out their men to your battle standard when the occasion

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